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Arch and unrepentant, Will Leitch, founding editor of Deadspin.com, is the mouthpiece for all the frustrated fans who just want their games back from big money, bloated egos, and blathering sportscasters. Always a fan first and a sportswriter second, Leitch considers the perfection of fantasy leagues and the meaninglessness of the steroids debate as he exposes Olympic fetishes, parses Shaq's rap attack on Kobe, shares a brew with John Rocker and his surprising girlfriend, and reveals what ESPN and the beer companies really think about you. If you or a fan you love is suffering from a sense of listless dissatisfaction brought on by the leagues and networks, God Save the Fan is your new manifesto.

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Review

“If you can’t find something to laugh at and be offended by on the same page of this book, you aren’t reading carefully enough.” (Washington Post Book World)

“R-rated, spectacularly irreverent, often mean and just as often piercingly insightful” (Newsday)

“A witty poke in the eye to the entire sports-industrial complex...A fanfare for the common fan and, if you’re stuck in the cheap seats, easier to read than a website.” (Sports Illustrated)

“Leitch balances potent humor with sharp and sometimes vicious insight without lapsing into clichés. He manages to be an astute sports critic while maintaining his enthusiasm as a fan, making his book an entertaining and enlightening read for anyone who roots for the home team a little too hard.” (Publishers Weekly)

“If the truth is to be found in humor - and it is - then let Will Leitch lead our people’s revolution. He’s everything that’s right and funny and true in American sports.” (Jeff MacGregor, Sports Illustrated special contributor and author of Sunday Money)

“The funniest sports book I have ever read. Yeah, as a member of the mainstream media I should probably despise Will Leitch. But God Saves the Fan is an uproarious, painful, pointed, skittish manifesto on all that’s warped in the world of Lucious Pusey.” (Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of The Bad Guys Won!)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

Will Leitch's book is a nice blend of laugh-out-loud satire, spoofs, and funny truth in the ridiculous, over-priced, ego-maniacal world of sports. The editor of the popular "Deadspin" blog is more than just funny, he's insightful.

I really don't read "Deadspin" very often, but the cover and title of this book -- not the blog -- was what drew me to it. I'm a huge sports fan, but I'm so tired of the overflow of cash and ego that if pro sports ended tomorrow, I wouldn't care. Sadly, Division I college sports now just mirrors professional sports, they're just less honest about the money. I'd wished Leitch would've addressed the greed of college sports, but what the heck, he lives in New York City, the worst college sports city in America. He's a pro guy ... though his take on interviewing a former University of Michigan basketball player was a complete riot.

Fans can be pretty dumb, too, as Leitch points out in his take on Barbaro. The article and hilarious drawing of the horse was very funny.

Some of Leitch's takes don't work -- does Scott Van Pelt's rejection of a date really need to be posted, is that news? Leitch found Van Pelt's phone message "humanizing." I found it boring. But Leitch is more often on target than not. And yeah, Chris Berman's "YWML" episode isn't news either, but if anyone needed to be a victim of "gotcha" journalism, it's Berman, who has become a caricature of himself. Yes, ESPN needed to be taken down a few notches and Leitch is just the guy to do it.

A quick and funny read, I hope Leitch has another book on the way. Will there be a fan revolution? Nah, fans are too emotional and gullible. If the NY Giants said tomorrow that end zone seats were $5,000 apiece, they'd get sold. Will ESPN's egos shrink? Are you kidding me?Read more ›

The best part of "God Save the Fan" may be its introduction, in which the author explains how the mainstream media's suppression of the Michael Vick "Ron Mexico" story helped inspire the creation of Deadspin. Of course I can't tell if the essay was funny because of Leitch's writing, or because I still can't read about Ron Mexico without falling over laughing.

Deadspin as a sports blog works best in quick hits. They're equal parts gossip and investigative journalism; they're outsiders who often scoop the mainstream press. Leitch's book is basically a collection of themed essays describing everything that's wrong with sports today: the players, the owners, the media, and the fans. Most of the individual chapters are worthwhile. However, the media section is largely a series of decreasingly funny put-downs of ESPN's on-air talent; many other essays are self-serving attempts to explain why the entire sports experience would be better if the blogosphere were in charge. Read all at once, "Fan" just seems bitter and frivolous.

"God Save the Fan" does have a ton of hilarious moments, as well as some genuine insight. The annotated reprint of an interview with John Rocker may well be the highlight of the book, and Leitch's musings on fantasy football will probably be a classic someday.

Unfortunately, when read all at once, Leitch's humor tends to grate, and it eventually becomes hard to figure out whether his put-downs are intended to be lightly mocking, or just plain mean-spirited. The odd essay about Leitch's appearance on Bob Costas's HBO program (exclusive to the paperback edition) is particuarly confusing.

Best thing to do is set aside "God Save the Fan" for another five years.Read more ›

I CANNOT BELIEVE SOMEONE PAID WILL LEITCH MONEY TO WRITE A BOOK. I WAS VERY SKEPTICAL. OBVIOUSLY HE JUST PASTED A BUNCH OF OLD DEADSPIN COLUMNS TOGETHER. HOWEVA, AFTER CURLING UP WITH A BAG OF CHEEZY DOODLES, THIS BOOK WAS OUTSTANDING. I AM NEVER WRONG ABOUT ANYTHING.

I have been a dedicated Deadspin (leitch's blog) for years now- but you don't have to be to enjoy this book. Filled with sarcasm, easy to read short essay commentaries- leitch's brutal honesty makes you laugh out loud at the rediculousness of our world of sports today. No one is safe, not even the medaia working behind the cameras!! Great quick read for any sports fan.

I'm a fan of Leitch's Deadspin, but this book suffers from what most blogs-to-books do: namely what's funny in doses doesn't quite work over 300 pages. The book is separated in various essays. Some are funny, some aren't so much, not unlike most essays collections. But Leitch does himself a disservice by relying on WAY too much ESPN bashing. The worldwide leader certainly deserves some mockery, but it feels he spends half the book driving in a nail that's already hit home. If you like Deadspin you'll enjoy this book, but come away feeling it could have been better had the author showed a little restraint.

Will Leitch looks at almost every aspect of sports, from steroids to drunk quarterbacks, from a fan's perspective. And truthfully, fans take the game a lot less seriously than players or reporters. So when we see something like Roethlisberger pouring tequila down a girl's throat we don't get upset--instead we laugh.

Leitch uses examples like these to show what's wrong with the world of professional sports reporting, and what we can do to reclaim our sports.